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The Clash at Demonhead
PM Omniance: 28th, 2:30 PM Wildomar, Iodine Springs PM Omniance: Despite them having left a little after noon, the growing storm and the seemingly impenetrable darkness have made the drive arduous, taking nearly hours to get to Iodine Springs hill, due to numerous abandoned or crashed cars in the road, strange things that kept darting in front of the headlights, and an overwhelming feeling that they're being watched. Now that they're finally at the hill itself it's taken almost another half hour to get three-fifths the way up. There has been obvious mud slides down the side of the mountain, and Leo's car is having trouble making it up the dirt road any farther as the tire continuously sink into the mud, to make matters worse he's low on gas, so even if the car doesn't get stuck in the mud, they'll likely have to walk back down the mountain and find shelter should they fail to end the storm. PM Omniance: Leo: He inches the car up the dirt road slowly, hitting the gas hard every few seconds to keep his car from getting stuck, he's had a look of hopelessness on his face for the last hour, like he's just going through the motions of getting to the top of the hill, but doesn't really expect anything to come of it. Like the time to stop the storm and all of the terrible things its brought with it has already passed and this is just one more thing to do that inevitably serves no purpose. Maggie: She doesn't look as down as Leo does, she's kept a bit of optimism for the trip, trying to lighten the mood repeatedly, however a few times she's run into talking about old time she, Isaac, and Leo have spent together, and memories of Leena sprout up, reminding them of her fate the previous day. She looks out the window, it's as dark as it has been for the last few hours, like someone is holding a black sheet over the car that blocks the view of anything else. We should be at the top soon, right? She looks to Isaac, then Hailey, not sure who would know the answer to her question. PM Arbi: Hailey: She frowns slightly. I'm sorry, I can't say. Despite having a window seat she isn't looking outside and hasn't been the entire car ride as she knows no matter how hard she tries she won't be able to see anything without some type of help from above. Isaac: He tries to think back to the last time he was here last year. I don't remember the mountain being that high up. We should be there soon, Maggie. PM Omniance: Leo: He seems to overhear her and just slams on the gas, the car wrenches forwards and up the hill. It seems to slide a bit to the right, scraping against a large rock and breaking the right mirror, the car seems to lodge into the mud and gets stuck against the rock, which is can be seen against the passengers side. Leo doesn't even seem to care at this point about his car. I'm going to gun it because the car is almost out of gas. Hold on. He hits the gas and the sound of the engine sputtering loudly is heard. The car sits in place for a few seconds and they can feel the tires spinning, but it doesn't move. Leo shifts gears and his the gas again, for a few more seconds the car sits in place before lurching forwards once more. The rock pressed against the side of the car drags along the side, cracking the windows it passes under. When the car gets clear of it they speed up, and Leo seems to regain control of the car as he turns around what could only be the bend at the top of the small mountain. I think it's just up ahead, at the top of this last hill. He shifts gears again and the car speeds up more, the sound of the engine sputtering loudly begins as the gas runs out, but he slams on the gas to get one last burst of momentum that propels them awkwardly up the rest of the muddy path, after a moment the car's engine dies and the drift about ten more feet before it's obvious that they're not going any further. Leo shifts into park and engages the parking break, looking to Alexe. That's it. No more gas. He turns and looks at the back seats to make sure the other three are alright. PM Arbi: Alexe: He grabs one of the last flares and opens his car door, igniting the white fire just as he steps outside. The light reveals the area around the car. Stay near the light. Hailey: She steps out and opens her umbrella. She looks around and raises her hand, like she was sensing something. PM Omniance: As Alexe ignites the flare they all see the darkness actually shrink back around them, like dozens of hunched human figures that were watching only a few feet away, darting and crawling quickly beyond the flare's glow, which seems to be diminished here at the top of the mountain, likely due to the taint of evil things being so prevalent here. Leo: He looks out into the dark, whatever those things were that moved, they can't be seen now. He's about to say something, but the care for asking leaves him as soon as he's about to say it. He turns and walks around the car, leaving the car lights on to help light their way, unsurprisingly the headlights don't shine more than a few feet ahead of the car. Maggie: She didn't see the darkness move away, and she wraps herself in a hooded white and yellow hooded rain coat. It seems to match La Paloma's hooded attire, but only superficially as it's just a typical coat you'd find in any store. PM | Edited 12:56:37 PM Arbi: Isaac: He steps out of the car after Maggie, closing the door behind him and quickly following going around the car to the others. Hailey: She steps forward several steps with her hand still raised up. The altar is this way, Alexe. Alexe: He looks back at her. Are you sure? Hailey: She nods slowly and lowers her hand. I can now see why the ritual was performed here. The altar, no... this land is brimming with dark energy. Alexe: He looks back into the darkness and grabs his cross tightly. PM Omniance: Leo: He looks at Maggie and Isaac to make sure they're following closely, and then turns to follow the others. Maggie: She mutters quietly. I get a sick feeling from being here... PM Arbi: Alexe: He leads the group slowly towards the altar with the flare held up highly. Hailey: What can you tell me about these creatures in the darkness? Alexe: After a moment of silence he speaks out. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened... Hailey: She looks at Alexe, thinking he may be refering to creatures of hell or of people that were sent there. She then decides to pull her wand out, holding it at the ready just incase they're attacked while in the light of the holy flare. PM Omniance: As they walk up the small hill they come across the clearing. The large strange rock, which the cultists tar their sacrifices to, is ahead. The rock can be seen in the darkness, glowing a bright, but soft, light blue color. Black designs seem to be carved into its surface. The rest of the hilltop is nothing but mud. Plants, signs of what happened to Mandy Lane, all of it seems to have been washed away by the storm. As they near the altar the flare starts to hiss and sizzle in the rain loudly and it burns brighter, but it doesn't actually seem to cast anymore light. Leo: he looks at the flare, which is clearly burning down faster than it should be, like this place is trying to burn it out. How long is this ritual going to take? PM | Edited 1:21:34 PM Arbi: Hailey: I practiced and studied as much as I could but I still have to be careful. If I make any mistakes the ritual may fail. She looks towards the altar and then slowly at their surroundings. It will take me thirty minutes without interruption. PM Omniance: As soon as she finishes speaking the darkness around them comes to life, taking shape almost like hundreds of fangs, which all wrench forwards from every direction and bite down into the muddy earth. The light quickly pushes them back as they become vague and shapeless. The mountain side rumbles quietly as it shakes, as if there were a slight earthquake happening. Suddenly a vague, but large outline, of a humanoid creature steps around the edge of Alexe's light. Even when hunched it must be nearly eight feet tall, it's cloaked in what looks like tattered clothing, but they can see two eyes peering back at them, reflecting like an animals does in the night. Its voice crackles in quiet tones, but it sounds as if there are over a dozen men speaking at once, making it loud enough to hear. It will... Make any... MissssstakessssssssSSsssssssss... PM Arbi: Alexe: Do not listen to him! He raises the flare towards the dark being with his hand tightly around his cross. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you! PM Omniance: The creature ducks back into the dark as he raises the flare in its direction. SsssSSsssssssssssubmit your... SSSSSSSSSSSSsssselvessSSSssss... To the devil... It leaps from the darkness towards Alexe, a pair of large black wings spread. PM | Edited 1:42:22 PM Arbi: Alexe: He moves out of the way but grabs the creature's wing as it passes him, easily pulling him back before it's able to fly back into the darkness and grabbing its neck. No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord! The creature's eyes immediately begin to turn bright white, it's only able to shreik as light beams out of its mouth just before it dies in seconds. He lets go of it and drops it onto the muddy ground. Hailey: She quickly makes her way towards the altar and lets go of her umbrella, letting it hover in place above her as she begins to set up the ritual. Alexe: He looks back towards the others. Ready yourselves. We must protect Hailey at all costs. PM Omniance: Maggie: She looks hesitantly into the darkness, wondering why she came at all after seeing that creature. What do I do? Leo: He doesn't say anything he stands ready, with little fear, feeling he has little to lose should they not succeed in defending Hailey. There's a violet flash in the darkness, and then another that expands like a ripple. Another creature steps into the light of Alexe's flare, looking similar to the one before, but without wings. Purple-blue souls waft from him like mist that momentarily takes the shape of anguishes faces. It pulls a crimson-burning sword, seemingly from no-where and immediately charges Alexe without a word. PM | Edited 1:49:41 PM Arbi: Alexe: Maggie, take the flare! He tosses her the white flare and stands his ground, grabbing the bottom of the sword with both hands to stop the creature from slashing down at him. PM Omniance: Maggie: She catches it, surprising herself that she doesn't fumble with it. The demonic creature immediately slams its elbow into Alexe's jaw to get him off. PM | Edited 1:54:50 PM Arbi: Alexe: He stumbles backwards and grabs his jaw, having to recover from such a hard hit. Isaac: He immediately shoots a bolt of lightning the moment the demonic creature decides to move again, stunning it before it can hurt anyone else. PM Omniance: The creature stumbles around, jittering slightly. Leo: He sees the creature a rage boils up inside of him. He screams in anger and thrusts out his arm, crimson energy rushes out, forming into chains that latch onto the creature's limbs and around his neck. The demon shudders slightly, and then seems to go blank, its eyes staring off into space as Leo's will overtakes it. There's a loud crash as something lands on top of the sacrificial rock. A large dark silhouette has landed on it, demonic leathery wings spread. Even with the blue glow of the rock, the demon's features are hidden, only a pair of completely blood-red eyes peer out at them. Its voice rumbles out, like the moving of stone. Enough... It looks down at Hailey, staring at her with a gaze that begins to unnerve her. There's a sudden flare of bright light from around them and a large burning hound seems to rise from the mud, it's nearly the size of Leo's car. The hellhound leaps towards Hailey, flying through the air like a huge ball of fire. The demon atop the glowing rock sits motionless, like a gargoyle. Leo: Isaac! The enslaved demon moves into position to stop the huge hound by stabbing it with its blade, but without something else to help it, it is clear that the demon won't be enough to keep the hell hound from landing on Hailey and crushing her. PM Arbi: Isaac: He looks like he's shaking slightly, his own lightning having stunned him in the rain. Alexe: He runs up to the monster and grabs at its spiked collar, pulling its head away from Hailey before he grabs its lower chin to stop it from turning and biting at him. The hellhound's eyes and mouth light up suddenly, especially its massive mouth. Hailey: She continues to work even in the presence of the demonic monster over her. PM Omniance: Demon: The hellhound vanishes as it burns away to ash and cinder. Again. Two more suddenly well up from the mud, one burning with flames and the other seeming to release freezing mist that causes the rain to hit it and then freeze, cracking off in chunks as it move to circle around the group. The burning hound tramples forwards towards Alexe as the other one begins to glow, pulling power into it. PM Arbi: Isaac: He shakes the stun off after a moment and looks around, seeing two other hellhounds appear from the mud. He starts to pull blood from arms, making sure to form the globe of blood in his hands so the rain doesn't wash it away. Alexe: He stands his ground and grabs at the hellhound's lower and upper mouth when it tries to bite down on him, holding it back from Hailey. His firm grasp on the hellhound's mouth allows him to smite the demon before it can fight back. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him... PM Omniance: The freezing hound breaths out a beam of ice that tears towards Hailey. Leo: The demon with the burning sword leaps in front of her, and the shimmering blue beam slams into it, instantly solidifying it in a block of ice. The sword is was hold burns out and the blade cracks. Demon: He leans forwards, finally looking from Hailey towards Alexe. His voice rumbles out loudly, causing the rain to move away from him in quick pulses as it falls. Now I see... He reaches out towards Alexe and the hound breaths in again, this time aiming for Alexe. ...What you are. PM Arbi: Isaac: He's looking towards the ice demon, blood still draining from his body. I promised myself I wouldn't let this happen again... He raises his hands towards the ice hound and summons his wicked tendrils. I'm not letting you hurt my friends again! The small bloody demon launches out from infront of Isaac, its barbed tail swinging and slashing as it reaches the hellhound and cuts its head apart into many pieces. PM Omniance: The hound squirms and stumbles to the side, turning to cold icy slush that quickly washes away in the rain. Demon: The Lord answered Job out of the storm, saying, "Who is this that darkens my counsel?" The creature narrows his eyes and then leaps from the rock, launching over Hailey and towards Alexe. It passes over the lesser Archangel, and the demon's bladed tail whips through his shoulder, cleaving open a deep wound that burns. PM | Edited 2:46:35 PM Arbi: Alexe: His eyes widen as his feels the bladed tail cleave deep into his shoulder, causing him to fall backswards onto the muddy ground. Hailey: She shakes her head and continues working, not wanting to stop in fear of running out of time. The ground infront of her is dry and sleek, it almost looks like it was turned to stone to stop the rain from washing anything away. In the stone there are large markings, many of which are beginning to glow with energy. PM Omniance: Demon: He vanishes into the darkness, but there's a loud thud that causes Maggie to jump. His outline can be seen just beyond the dying flare's light. "Do you still hold fast to integrity?" He steps into the light towards Maggie and the flare sizzles and the small bright flame blows away from him, like his presence is a wind that's trying to blow it out. "Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not also receive evil?" The demon leaps over her, ignoring her as he once again rushes Alexe. PM Arbi: Isaac: He shoots another bolt of lightning, this time hitting the demon that's rushing towards Alexe. It physically pains him to do this as he's electricuting himself at the same time. PM Omniance: Demon: He flaps his large wings as he's struck by the bolt, causing him to fly to the side and back into the darkness. After a few seconds his voice rumbles out again. ...And God tested Abraham, and said to him... "Take your son. Your only son of whom you love, Isaac, and go to the top of the mountain. Offer him up as an entirely burned offering there that I will show you." Mandy Lane walks out into the light from the darkness. She takes a deep breath, her chest lighting up with fire, and she breaths out a shrieking stream of flames towards the group. PM Arbi: Isaac: He's about to move out of the way but doesn't see steam coming out around the firebreath from the rain. He stays where he is and transforms his skin, changing it to a dark grey color as he stares at Mandy Lane and shoots two lightning bolts towards her. Alexe: He gets back up to his feet with his hand over his deep wound as he looks to see what happened. The puddles of mud under him are covered with his blood. PM Omniance: Demon: The bolts of lightning slam into him and the façade of Mandy's appearance fades, the flames turn to the side, sweeping away from all of them as the demon stumbles backwards. Leo: He once again throws crimson-black chains outwards towards the demon, the latch onto him and shackle his wrists and ankles. The Demon continues to stumble for a moment before tearing the chains off like nothing. I can't enslave it! Demon: He leaps towards Isaac, seeming to have shaken off the stun rather quickly. In an instant he slams into Isaac and grabs him by the arm, throwing him towards Hailey to disrupt her ritual, dislocating Isaac's arm in the process. PM Arbi: Isaac: The moment the demon grabs onto him he electricutes him with everything he has, not afraid as he's immune to lightning in his transformed state. The demon gets launched backwards onto the ground with arcs of lightning running across his body. They slowly vanish but keep him stunned on the ground. Alexe: He places his hands on the demon's head as it opens it's eyes. ...The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. PM Omniance: The demon's eyes ignite and it begins to scream as Alexe's holy power burns it from the inside. As the light fades as Alexe pulls away, the demon has become a simple man dressed in a tattered shirt and jeans. He has a silvery amulet around his neck with a strange symbol on it. It's immediately recognizable as some kind of demonic sigil, but Alexe doesn't recognize it. The amulet cracks down the middle after a moment. PM Omniance: Leo: He peers out into the darkness as he looks away from the man. How much longer with this take? Maggie: She holds the flare higher and moves over to Alexe, the darkness seems to be receding and the flare is as bright as it should be once again. PM Arbi: Hailey: Must you keep asking me that, Leo? She stands up from the ritual, all the symbols drawn out perfectly and glowing. The light colored energies begin spiraling upwards and becoming more intense. It's done. PM Omniance: There's a sound of thunder, and the darkness immediately lifts as the clouds turn from black to blue-grey. As they watch light pour from the grey sky and down onto the earth they see hundreds of creatures seem to shrink away with the darkness and vanish along with it. Though it's still very cloudy, and the light isn't actually that bright, it seems much brighter than it is because of the pitch blackness that shrouded everything only a moment ago. The rain also seems to have let up, and it's more of a normal rainfall instead of a torrential downpour. Maggie: Thank god... She lowers the flare and looks around, the terrifying surroundings suddenly seeming like a mundane rainy day. PM Arbi: Alexe: He closes his eyes and smile weakly before falling over beside the dead man. PM Omniance: Maggie: She drops the flare and puts her hand on Alexe's shoulder, beginning to pray quietly. Leo: He looks to the distance, towards the housing tract and wonders about his parents quietly. After a moment he looks at Isaac. I need to go home. PM | Edited 3:44:46 PM Arbi: Alexe: He shakily moves Maggie's hand off his shoulder. Do not take my wounds, Maggie... I would never be able to forgive myself if you perished. PM Omniance: Maggie: She puts her hand back on him, ignoring his concern. The wound passes to her as it vanishes from him, and her shoulder splits open, blood quickly gushes out and she screams in pain for a moment. She lets go of him and sits in the mud, and she begins to pray as blood runs down her arm and pools in the puddles around her. PM Arbi: Alexe: He watches as she prays and her own wounds begin to slowly heal. He sighs in relief and places his hand on her other shoulder. Thank you, Maggie... PM Omniance: Maggie: She nods slowly as she closes her eyes and silently prays. Leo: Thank you, everyone... He looks up at the sky. I actually doubted that we could do it... I'm sorry... PM Arbi: Isaac: He loses his transformation and walks up beside Leo. I was getting a little scared too but... I think I've been through worse. Hailey: She's standing beside the dead man looking Alexe and Maggie over when something catches her eye. She flicks her wand and the cracked amulet flies up infront of her, she grabs it and looks it over. Who was this man?... PM Omniance: Leo: I've never seen him before. Now that it's brighter out they can see that he's a man, likely in his late twenties or early thirties with blonde hair and tanned skin. His eyes have been burned out so they can't identify his eye color. Leo takes a step back from him, not too keen on being close to a dead body. PM | Edited 4:04:31 PM Arbi: Alexe: He stands back up and looks down at the corpse. We need to bring the body back to the mansion, it must be cleansed of any lingering evil. Isaac: But the car's out of gas and I'm too tired to walk across town. How are we gonna get back? Hailey: I have a single teleport left that I can use today. I'll head back myself and tell the others what happened so they may pick all of you up. She looks around at everyone. I hope that's acceptable. PM Omniance: Leo: He looks to the housing tract. I can walk to my house. It's like a thirty minute walk from here, maybe a bit more with the rain. I'll get my parent's car and bring some gas. He looks back at Hailey, then Alexe. Then we'll have two cars. PM Arbi: Hailey: She grabs her umbrella that's floating in mid-air. My teleport is instant, let me take care of the cars. She turns around and floats into the air. Although the storm has passed, Maria and my sister are still out there. Rest while you have the chance. She vanishes. PM Omniance: Leo: He takes a deep breath, and then sighs. Alright then... He says even though she's already gone. He turns and looks at Isaac. We should go find Mandy Lane and make sure they're alright. PM Arbi: Isaac: He looks up at the storm clouds that are still over them. Let's get off this mountain first... I don't wanna get struck by lightning again. Alexe: He helps Maggie to stand back up and nods to Isaac. PM Omniance: Maggie: My shoulder is healed, it's just sore now. She smiles at Alexe as he helps her up. Leo: He looks around, once more at the rock, and then turns to follow the others down the mountain, anxious to find Maria and make her pay for what she's done, but he keeps it to himself.